T-Mobile posted quarterly earnings on Wednesday that far exceeded Wall Street’s wildest expectations.
Customers flocked to T-Mobile during the quarter, according to the company’s financial results, which showed record low churn of postpaid phone service for the telecom company. The mobile carrier’s net adds, a key measure of the number of customers added during the quarter, hit 1.33 million, exceeding the 807,000 expected by Street Account.
Business customers are also a burgeoning source of growth for T-Mobile, CEO John Legere said on a conference call.
The results temporarily halted the stock in after-hours trading. Shares were edged higher after trading halt was lifted.
- EPS: 67 cents per share vs. 38 cents per share expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimates
- Revenue: $10.21 billion vs. $9.81 billion expected by a Thomson Reuters consensus estimate
That’s up compared to earnings of 25 cents per share on revenue of $9.29 billion in the year-ago period.
Mobile carriers have been in fierce competition over the past year as consumers have pushed trends like unlimited data plans and the end of contract commitments. T-Mobile saw data volumes growing about 40 percent year-over-year, technology chief Neville Ray told analysts on a conference call last quarter.
The advent of faster internet speeds, coming with 5G-compatible phone chips, is likely to accelerate the competition for wireless customers. The “super cycle” of iPhone 8 customers expected by analysts could also pose an unprecedented challenge for carriers.
Legere said there’s no “magic” behind T-Mobile’s quarterly results, crediting the beat to investments in the network and “good, old-fashioned focus” from engineers.
“This was a competitive quarter,” Legere said. “It was the first full quarter with all the unlimited plans on the market.”
T-Mobile blew Wall Street out of the water with its earnings